Coronavirus: Kings Theatre plea for public’s help to survive closure

The board of the charity met on Tuesday night to discuss the best way forward, after the UK Government issued advice against going to bars, clubs, and restaurants.

All planned music events at the Kings Live Lounge until June 1 are being postponed, with the hope of rescheduling some acts in August.

However, events manager Stephen Barbour said that there is a great deal of uncertainty which could threaten the long term future of the project, with no money coming in.

The UK Government this week announced business loans to help firms which are having to shut down, but the board are unsure of the Kings will qualify since it is a small charity.

He said: “We’re closing as of Friday, to all shows. Everything right through to June 1 has been pulled.

“The acts we’ve spoken to, everyone’s been very understanding of the situation.

”They’re already looking at rescheduling, but we’re looking at that being August onwards.

“The problem is that we obviously still have overheads that we have to pay every month and we’re generating nothing. Being a charity and running with small budgets anyway, we can see a possibility of us not making it because we have to survive that time with no income.

“We don’t want to put anyone at risk. It’s the lesser of two evils; closing and taking a chance. We’ve just got to hope.”

But Stephen says there are reasons for optimism and people can still help the Kings pull through.

“Refunds will be issued, but we’re going to see if people are open to giving us a donation, and maybe not taking the refund. It’s purely about helping the project survive.

“We’re also going to speak to some acts for our Sunday Sessions to see if they can come in to play without an audience, but livestream for people at home. It could help keep the Kings in people’s minds.”

The long term project has seen the old YWCA at Kirkcaldy waterfront regenerated from a dilapidated building into a growing entertainment and community hub.

A Justgiving page has been setup to help keep the Kings going: You can find it by clicking here